Global App Innovation Contest Finds Depression Brainwave
Sydney, Australia (PRWEB) October 29, 2013 -- Global App Innovation Contest Finds Depression Brainwave
Australia’s AppHappening https://www.apphappening.com/ Innovation Contest which scoured the world for the next 100 app tycoons, has been won by a woman, who used her personal experience with depression to devise a revolutionary new app as a treatment for the debilitating disease.
The contest, conducted by Australian innovator AppHappening, attracted hundreds of expressions of interest and thousands of visitors from around the globe including China, the United States, Australia, Spain, Germany, Indonesia and India.
Despite the extremely short deadline to submit entries for the contest, a large number of proposals were received and 37 outstanding app proposals made the short list from which the Expert Panel chose first place.
Kristina Wilms from Germany, was chosen by an expert panel of successful entrepreneurs and Silicon Valley visionaries as having submitted the most promising proposal. She drew inspiration for her idea from her own struggle with depression and was encouraged to submit her app because of AppHappenning’s Four Step development Framework. https://www.apphappening.com/ah/fourstepframework
“We have been absolutely blown away by the response to the contest and the app proposals are still flooding in so we will be keeping our online pitch facility open for those who want the chance to be selected for our incubator,” AppHappening CEO Michael Giffney said.
Anyone with a great idea or concept for one of the next great apps can still go to https://www.apphappening.com/competition and submit their pitch!
While just the top two proposals receive funding, the top 100 app ideas will be taken into the AppHappening tech-investor incubator process where the entrepreneurs will be guided through the steps of bringing their idea to life.
Ms Wilms’ app, dubbed Aiden, will be licensed to therapists who supply it to patients suffering depression. Among the core features is one enabling patients to report their mood and feelings in minute detail as soon as incidents occur. This provides valuable granular data for the mental health professional that previously could not be obtained on a reliable basis due to a reliance on cumbersome paper-based methods or the patient’s memory.
“One of the most important elements in the treatment of depression and burn-out is the recording of the persons’ behaviour patterns,” said Ms Wilms. “At the moment, patients are asked to fill out special forms which they have to carry around all day and are both indiscreet and impractical.”
Aiden puts this mood tracking technology at the fingertips of both patients and mental health providers on a range of mobile devices.
Ms Wilms travelled to Amsterdam over the weekend to claim her first prize, a coveted seat on the entrepreneur boot camp and road trip, Startup Bus Europe, funding and, ultimately, the chance to turn her dream into reality.
“From my personal experience with depression, I knew there was a need for this sort of app but until now I had no way of developing it or marketing it without help,” Ms Wilms said.
Ms Wilms is currently onboard StartupBus racing to build the first prototype of Aiden with her new team members assembled specifically for the contest. The team has already received over 10 letters of intent to purchase from potential clients.
“It’s looking like Kristina’s idea could win the entire StartupBus competition and this just proves that anyone with a valuable idea can become an app entrepreneur with the right support,” said AppHappening CTO and chief app development advisor, Simon Anquetil, who is also on the StartupBus acting as a mentor.
Information that will be tracked by Aiden includes details on sleeping patterns and dreams, daily mood and how it changes throughout the day, the activators of mood change and their physical effects and many other important factors.
The second place winner was Stephan Huer from Germany whose proposal Busticket.de aims to provide a quick and easy way for Germans to book long-distance bus tickets and associated services like car rental, hostels and events via an app. He won funding and helped to get his idea off the ground.
About AppHappening
AppHappening, founded by Australian serial entrepreneur Michael Giffney, is a leading global innovation platform designed to connect businesses large and small with a network of experts from around the world, each with specialised skills designed to bring app ideas to life. The platform is online outsourcing that works, with careful vetting of “App Geniuses” to ensure that, unlike competitor offerings, work is delivered on time, on budget and most importantly, with a quality that rivals even the most high-end traditional software development house. No technical skills are required, and all customers have access to a 24/7 advice line that is manned by experienced app experts free-of-charge.
michael speck, Speck Consulting Group, +61 437437194, [email protected]
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